Digital Commons Network^™

A Flea-Borne Mystery: Unraveling Murine Typhus In A Patient With Unexplained Encephalopathy, Jose J. Loayza Pintado, Jorge A. Aboytes, Cesar Uribe

School of Medicine Publications

Murine typhus is a flea-borne rickettsial infection caused by Rickettsia typhi, commonly seen in endemic regions like Southern California and Texas. While it typically presents with fever, rash, and headache, neurological symptoms such as altered mental status are rare. We present a case of a 66-year-old male in southern Texas with alcohol use disorder who developed progressive confusion, decreased appetite, and subjective fevers. He was found to have severe hyponatremia, acute kidney injury, and atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. Despite supportive care and empiric antibiotics for a urinary tract infection, his encephalopathy persisted. Further history revealed exposure to …

The Industrial Hemp Supply Chain Solution, Honovi C. Trudell Sir

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Realistically solving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals utilizing an Industrial Hemp supply chain with economy to scale to replace petroleum based plastics and permanently offset carbon emissions produced from other continuously produced hazardous waste.

Genetic Factors Of Campylobacter Jejuni Required For Its Interactions With Free-Living Amoeba, Deepti Pranay Samarth, Asim Z. Abbasi, Young Min Kwon

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Acanthamoeba, a free-living amoeba ubiquitous in environmental water, has been considered as the environmental reservoir of certain bacterial pathogens, including Campylobacter jejuni, an intracellular human pathogen causing self-limiting gastroenteritis. Acanthamoeba-C. jejuni interaction mechanisms may help clarify how the otherwise fastidious bacterium C. jejuni survives in environmental waters. In this study, we constructed single deletion mutants of C. jejuni strain 81-176 for the 10 selected genes (motAB, ciaB, kpsE, virB11, cheY, flaAB, cstII, docB, sodB, and cadF) previously shown to be important for the interaction (invasion and intracellular survival) of C. jejuni with mammalian hosts. We used a modified gentamicin protection …

Barriers To Clinical Cosmetic And Laser Dermatology Research In The Academic Setting By Source Of Funding: A Systematic Review, Bianca Y. Kang, Saranya P. Wyles, Yakir Levin, Rawaa Almukhtar, Stephanie R. Jackson Cullison, Jayne S. Joo, Sami K. Saikaly, Shalinie Mahadeo, Michael Ong, Sophia Salingaros, Maria Hordinsky, Sarah A. Ibrahim, Devina Mehta, Shoko Mori, Edit B. Olasz Harken, Diana Bolotin, Kira Minkis, Murad Alam

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

Clinical research is a cornerstone of academic dermatology, including research in cosmetic and laser procedures. However, numerous barriers exist to conducting clinical research in an academic setting as compared to private practice. The objective of this study was to describe the barriers to clinical research in cosmetic and laser dermatology in the academic setting under three common funding scenarios: (1) industry sponsored, (2) unfunded, investigator-initiated, and (3) publicly funded, investigator-initiated. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify 17 publications regarding funding of clinical dermatology research. Inductive content analysis was used to extract, categorize, and understand the barriers …

Negotiating Depletion And Endurance: Hiya, Tino, And Bait As Vernacular Grammars Of Political Scandal In The Philippines, Karl Patrick R. Mendoza

Social Transformations Journal of the Global South

Political scandals in the Philippines often provoke intense outrage yet rarely lead to decisive accountability. Leaders are condemned but continue to endure, a paradox commonly attributed to weak institutions or entrenched elites. This research note advances a different explanation by foregrounding hiya (shame), tino (uprightness), and bait (goodness) as vernacular grammars through which publics interpret misconduct. Rather than fixed cultural traits, these idioms operate as interactive processes of depletion and endurance that shape how scandals resonate emotionally, register as morally legible, and align with familiar narratives. Hiya and tino collapse once violated, marking leaders as shameless or irresponsible, while bait …

Cinema As Praxis: An Integrated Theoretical Framework For Philippine Social Advocacy Cinema, Herwin Benedictos Cabasal

Social Transformations Journal of the Global South

This theoretical paper examines social advocacy cinema in the Philippines as a form of counter-hegemonic cultural practice. Drawing on Third Cinema Theory (Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino), critical theory (Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer), and participatory communication for social change (Paulo Freire and Thomas Tufte), this paper proposes Cinema as Praxis as an integrated theoretical framework for understanding how politically driven advocacy films operate through the convergence of cultural and political production, ideological representation and critique, and participatory communication. It argues that social advocacy cinema functions through interconnected dimensions: (1) production as praxis, in which collective and grassroots filmmaking constitutes …

Diversity And Activity Of Ground-Dwelling Spiders (Araneae) In Four Sub-Communities In A Degraded Oak Woodland At The Chicago Botanic Garden, Cook County, Illinois, James F. Steffen, Michael L. Draney

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Ground-dwelling spiders were sampled using pitfall traps over a twelve-month period from four sub-communities within a 40-ha oak woodland complex in northern Cook County, Illinois. Mesic and dry mesic oak woodland, mesic upland forest, buckthorn dominated mesic oak savanna and a mesic woodland control, where no restoration management is planned, were sampled. Fifty-five species within 44 genera and 18 families were trapped. The results suggest negative correlations between non-native spider abundance and spider species richness. Also, phenology of the various species indicates that a year-round inventory is necessary to adequately sample ground-dwelling spider assemblages. Possibilities of using Bathyphantes concolor (Wider) …

Habitat Distribution Of Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) In Northern Hardwood Forests Of Michigan, Holly A. Petrillo, John A. Witter

The Great Lakes Entomologist

We compared carabid beetle communities in northern hardwood forests and divided these forests into three categories based on overstory composition and geographic location: Northern red oak-American beech (Quercus rubra L.-Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in the Lower Peninsula (OBLP), sugar maple- American beech (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in the Lower Peninsula (MBLP), and sugar maple- American beech in the Upper Peninsula (MBUP). Carabid beetles were collected using pitfall traps in 36 stands in 2003-2004. We found that carabid composition changed throughout the collection periods. Pterostichus pensylvanicus LeConte and Sphaeroderus lecontei Dejean comprised 76% of the trap catches in May while Synuchus impunctatus (Say) …

Spatiotemporal Variation Of Violet-Feeding Large Fritillaries (Euptoieta, Speyeria) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) In Central And Northern Wisconsin, Ann B. Swengel, Scott R. Swengel

The Great Lakes Entomologist

We analyzed the relative abundance of the large fritillaries Euptoieta claudia (Cramer) (immigrant), Speyeria cybele (Fabricius) and S. atlantis (Edwards) (generalists), S. aphrodite (Fabricius) (grassland species), and S. idalia (Drury) (prairie specialist) in transect surveys at grasslands and pine barrens during 1990-2006 for variation and correlation over time (measured both as chronological year and as years since last management treatment) among six subregions in central and northern Wisconsin. Population trends (correlations of abundance with chronological year) were few and not significantly skewed toward either negative or positive trends. Spatial synchrony between pairs of subregions was significantly different among species, and …

The Native And Introduced Bark And Ambrosia Beetles Of Michigan (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), Anthony I. Cognato, Nicolas Barc, Michael Philip, Robert Mech, Aaron D. Smith, Eric Galbraith, Andrew J. Storer, Lawrence R. Kirkendall

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Our knowledge of the biogeography of Scolytinae of eastern temperate North America is very patchy. We used data from hand collecting, trapped material (from 65 of 83 counties), and museum collections, supplemented by literature records, to compile a list comprising 107 bark beetle species in 45 genera for Michigan, a state with an especially rich diversity of woody plants. We provide detailed collection data documenting 32 species not previously catalogued for Michigan, 23 of which are new state records; the genera Trypophloeus and Trischidias are reported from Michigan for the first time. Fifteen Michigan scolytines are not native to North …

Simulation Of The Effects Of Stand Factors On Spruce Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), W. P. Kemp, J. P. Nyrop, G. A. Simmons

The Great Lakes Entomologist

A model was developed to simulate the life history of instar-I through instar-I1 spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens). Particular emphasis was given to the redistribution phases during spring and fall and the factors affecting budworm survival. Analyses included the effects of aggregated stand types, temperature, cloud cover, open areas, and the species distribution, on redistribution mortality. Of those stand factors examined, open area and non-host percentages were the most important in regulating redistribution survival.

Size Reduction Southward In Michigan's Mustard White Butterfly, Pieris Napi (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), W. H. Wagner Jr., Michael K. Hansen

The Great Lakes Entomologist

[Excerpt]

The mustard white, Pieris napi (Linnaeus) is generally considered to be a circumboreal species or species-complex. Much disagreement exists regarding the classification in this group, the members of which are extremely diverse, especially in Eurasia. There is evidently "a continuous range of differentiation, from local populations, through subspecies, to species, which nomenclature cannot fully reflect" (Bowden 1972). In North America the major controversy has been whether the so-called West Virginia white, P. virginiensis Edwards, should be separated as a distinct species. Most writers today agree that it should. Of the mustard white in the Great Lakes area, the local …

An Annotated List Of The Checkered Beetles (Coleoptera: Cleridae) Of Michigan, D.C. L. Gosling

The Great Lakes Entomologist

[Excerpt]

The checkered beetles (Cleridae) have been included in local lists of Michigan Coleoptera by Andrews ( 1916, 192 1, 1929), Hatch (1924), Hubbard and Schwarz (1878). LeConte (1850), and Wolcott (1909). The present list is the first to include records from throughout the state, and is based on the collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ), those of the Department of Entomology, Michigan State University (MSUC), and the private collections of E. F. Giesbert, D. K. Young, and the author. This list records 35 species of Cleridae from the state, and I believe it is essentially …

Healing In Relation: Honoring Post-Graduate Grief As An Opportunity For Relational Scholarship, Tanya J. Behrisch, Anna Rumjahn, Chris Yakimov

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper is a three-way conversation about grief that follows a graduate program. We explore our experiences with post-graduate grief in community, attending to each other’s sense of loss following separation from supervisors, theses, and graduate programs. In committing to slow scholarship, processes—such as navigating feelings and living—have been valued over producing a manuscript quickly. Slowness, including long gaps between meetings, enabled us to follow the diverse contours of quiet alchemical processes such as grieving, opening up to emptiness, self-acceptance, being enough, and letting go. After years of compression and dialogic friction with her mentor, Tanya confronts feelings akin to …

Enhancing Childhood Development With Vedic Manas Yoga: A School-Based Intervention Study, Acharya Balkrishna, Upasana Agarwal, Arvind Rana, Devika Balagopalan, Ajit Sharma, Shubhangi Shrivastava, Vedpriya Arya

Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU

In today’s world, with rapid technological growth and rising mental health concerns among youth, there’s an urgent need to reconnect with holistic practices that promote overall well-being. Vedic Manas Yoga offers a comprehensive approach through activities like Sun gazing, Yajna, breathing exercises, meditation, yogic practices, sound frequencies, laughter, and brain exercises to stimulate the brain and pineal gland. However, there’s limited research on replicating these benefits in school environments. This study explores the effects of integrating Vedic Manas Yoga into a school curriculum for children aged 5 to 11.

The study involved 169 participants, with a majority of 77.5% female …

Clinico-Etiological Profile Of Hyponatremia And Its Consequences On Blood Gas Parameters, Harshita Singh, Anil Gurtoo, Lh Ghotekar, Motilal Negi, Priya Bansal, Rajeev Goyal

Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU

Introduction: Hyponatremia, characterized by serum sodium levels/L, is a common electrolyte disorder affecting 15–22% of hospitalized patients. The clinical manifestations of hyponatremia stem from intracellular water shift. It causes cerebral edema and primarily manifests as neurological symptoms. The etiology of hyponatremia can be identified through a comprehensive history, physical examination, and assessment of volume status. Hypoxia emerges as a significant factor in brain damage among individuals with hyponatremic encephalopathy.

Methodology: The study enrolled 100 consenting inpatients with hyponatremia (/L) from the Department of General Medicine.

Results: The mean age was 49.4 ± 17.15 years, with an equal male-to-female ratio. The …

Effect Of Vitamin D3 And Omega 3 Fatty Acids Against Multidrug Resistant Clinical Pathogens, Shreya Naik, Suneel Dodamani, Sheetal Harakuni, Masoodahmed Tahashildar

Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU

Many common drugs are becoming a major threat to global health since they are no longer effective against germs that are resistant to antibiotics. This study focuses on the antibacterial properties of vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid, against these drug-resistant pathogens. Laboratory tests including Minimum Bactericidal Concentration and Minimum inhibitory Concentration were performed to assess their effectiveness. Vitamin D3 showed strong antimicrobial benefits by boosting the immune system and promoting the production of natural defense proteins like catheclicidins, which can stop the growth of harmful bacteria. Additionally, DHA was found to be effective, causing bacterial mortality …

Cannabinoids Modulations In Intraocular Pressure And Therapeutic Intervention For Glaucoma, Saumya Srivastav, Bita Manouchehri

Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU

Cannabis is recently being used by more than 180 million people around the world and considered as the most common psychotropic drug. The US govt. has legalized the use of cannabis, and the consumption rate has increased significantly. The medicinal use of cannabis has also been found in ancient times of India, China, Egypt, and Rome. The cannabis plant has three different species, cannabis sativa, cannabis indica, and cannabis rudralis. Cannabis sativa is the one that’s best known for its commercial use. The sativa species consists of five hundred and forty natural compounds, which are further classified as cannabinoids. The …

The Power Of Storytelling: Creatively Facilitating Conceptual Change In The Classroom, Mackenzie S. Rose, Marcus Johnson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Conceptual knowledge encompasses understanding the interrelationships among multiple pieces of information. Misconceptions of these interrelationships illustrate the need for effective educational strategies to facilitate conceptual change, with the goal of facilitating changes in learner understanding to appropriate, accurate, and complete concepts. Strategies, such as refutation texts, have proven effective in addressing science misconceptions, yet there is a prominent gap in research on conceptual change in nonscience subjects and the use of storytelling to facilitate such change. Storytelling, presented in a range of educational subjects, invites learners to engage in social discourses and problem-solving exercises. Prompted by classroom storytelling practices, creativity, …

The Possible Cardioprotectiveeffect Of Empagliflozin During Endotoxemia In Mice Model, Safwa Miqdad Al-Killidar, Bashaer M. Muhammad-Baqir

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

Background:Sepsis is a major complication for seriously ill people with shock, major infections, serious burns, or severe trauma. Inflammation imbalance is the primary underlying cause of sepsis progression and persists continuously over the entire sepsis course. Empagliflozin is an orally administered medication for diabetes that selectively inhibits sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 to improve kidney elimination of glucose. It has been discovered that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 exhibit anti inflammation and multiple effects, suggesting that they may be beneficial and prevent infections. Aim of study:This study was undertaken to assess Empagliflozin's cardioprotective efficacy in septic mice through its potent anti- inflammatory …

Epidemiological Status And Diagnosis Of Leptospirosis —A Review, Pooja Palla, Gudikandula Krishna, Dasari Thrimothi

Maaen Journal for Medical Sciences

Numerous investigations carried out in impacted countries have enhanced our knowledge of the leptospirosis epidemiology, a serious zoonotic illness that has spread throughout the world. Reliable global incidence numbers are unavailable, and the infection is underreported. According to a thorough analysis and modelling exercise, there are over a million human cases and about 60,000 fatalities worldwide each year. Although temperate countries can also experience it, tropical locations are where it is most common. Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Oceania, South and Southeast Asia, and sections of Latin America have the highest infection rates. Even though leptospirosis is a tropical zoonotic disease …

Seroprevalence And Associated Risk Factors Of Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (Cae) And Peste Des Petits Ruminants (Ppr) Among Deer In An Institutional Farm In Malaysia, Krishnan Nair Balakrishnan, Faez Firdaus Abdullah Jesse, Bura Thlama Paul, Shalonagiftsal Stephen C Charles, Ummul Rifhan Najiha Noor Zaman, Eric Lim Teik Chung, Nur Amira Azhar, Abdirahman Barre, Muhammed Mikail, Mohd Azmi Mohd Lila

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) are significant viral diseases impacting small ruminants, leading to substantial economic losses and posing a potential threat to livestock health. Although seroprevalence evidence of these viruses has been documented in ruminants, there is a lack of data regarding their presence among farmed deer in Malaysia. This preliminary study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and associated risk factors for CAEV and PPRV infections among deer in Malaysia. A total of ninety-two blood sera from an institutional deer farm were screened for CAEV and PPRV antibodies using commercially available indirect ELISA test …

A New Genus And New Synonyms For Liburnia Reducta Van Duzee, 1907 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacoidea: Delphacidae), Charles R. Bartlett, Adam M. Wallner

Insecta Mundi

The delphacid species Liburnia reducta Van Duzee is transferred to the new genus Calkinodelphax Bartlett and Wallner (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacoidea: Delphacidae) and is designated the type species of this genus under the name Calkinodelphax reductus (Van Duzee), new combination. Calkinodelphax reductus is broadly distributed from Florida, the Antilles, Central America, and northern South America. Calkinodelphax reductus is the subjective senior synonym of Pissonotus striolus Osborn, Delphacodes cornuta Beamer, and Euides fasciatella auct. (nec. Osborn). A new lectotype is designated for Liburnia reducta Van Duzee. The female holotype and male allotype of Liburniella fasciatella Osborn were reviewed and found to …

Four Synonyms Of Tetraleurodes Mori (Quaintance, 1899) (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae), Natalia Von Ellenrieder, Raymond J. Gill, Ian C. Stocks

Insecta Mundi

Examination of type specimens of Aleyrodes errans Bemis, 1904, A. dorseyi Kotinsky, 1907 (replacement name for A. quaintancei Bemis, 1904), and A. splendens Bemis, 1904 and comparison with a large series of specimens of Tetraleurodes mori (Quaintance, 1899) (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae) confirms that the first four names represent new junior subjective synonyms of the latter species, since their types do not differ from it in any significant way and display the combination of diagnostic characters that identifies that species.

Resumen

El análisis de ejemplares tipo de Aleyrodes errans Bemis, 1904, A. dorseyi Kotinsky, 1907 (nombre de …

Alexander Smith V. City Of Atlantic City

2025 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

Anticommandeering Climate Action: Defending The Necessity Of Subfederal Planet-Saving Legislation, Tyler Hall

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Humanity is on the defensive against climate change, and state and local governments are the front line. Regrettably, Americans have waited too long for air cover in the form of federal climate regulations despite an established history of federal environmental action only emerging from the ashes of headline-grabbing catastrophes. Americans cannot wait on federal legislation to tackle the global and unprecedented problem of climate change. It will come far too late.

State and local governments’ historic police power includes protecting environmental health and public welfare, but decades of successful federal regulation have atrophied its use. Delayed by federal success, state …

Feelings That Drive, Kayla M. Jackson

LSU Master's Theses

Feelings That Drive is an interdisciplinary, multimodal thesis that blends poetry, personal narrative, lyrical essays, and spiritual reflection to explore the complex intersections of Black identity, memory, trauma, resilience, and healing in the contemporary American South. Framed in five thematic sections—Worn, Anxiousness, Desperation, Hopeful, and Restored—the work traverses emotional and geographic landscapes, most notably the author’s home in New Orleans, to trace the cumulative effects of racialized trauma, familial rupture, and spiritual seeking. Through nonlinear storytelling and form-breaking verse, the thesis confronts experiences such as anti-Blackness in institutional spaces, gendered violence, economic precarity, generational silence, and the haunting …

Predator Management With A Single Bait? Use Of Eradicat For The Simultaneous Management Of Feral Cats, Red Foxes, And Wild Dogs, Tracey L. Kreplins, David Algar

Biosecurity Research Articles

Context

In Western Australia, there are three invasive predators that require management for agriculture and biodiversity protection, feral cats, wild dogs, and red foxes. These three predators often coexist in the same locality, suggesting potential efficacy gains can be made via simultaneous control. While Western Australian native species have evolved a high tolerance to poison baiting (1080), invasive predators have not. Therefore, landscape-scale baiting is commonly used for predator management. Aims

Eradicat baits designed for feral cat control have also been known to be consumed and control wild dogs and foxes. In this trial, we aimed to evaluate Eradicat as …

Comparative Methylation Analyses Across Juglans Species To Investigate Epigenetic Contributions To Fungal Resistance, Keertana Chagari

Honors Scholar Theses

Juglans cinerea (butternut) is a critically threatened North American tree species experiencing severe declines due to the fungal pathogen Ophiognomonia clavigignentijuglandacearum. In contrast, its Asian relative, Juglans ailantifolia (Japanese walnut), shows natural resistance. To investigate the genomic and epigenetic factors underlying this difference, we constructed and analyzed high-quality, chromosome-level genome assemblies for both species from long-read sequencing data (J. ailantifolia: 527Mb; J. cinerea: 586Mb), focusing on transposable element (TE) content, DNA methylation patterns, and regulation of pathogen resistance genes (PRGs).

Repeat analysis revealed that J. cinerea has a slightly higher overall transposable element (TE) content, with …

The Influence Of Geographic Ranges, Climatic Niches And Temperature Fluctuations On Population Variability, Cleber Ten Canten, Lauren Holian, Tad Dallas

Faculty Publications

The existence of patterns in population dynamics across species geographic ranges and climatic niches is a pervasive idea in ecology. Population variability (i.e. temporal variability in population density) should hypothetically increase near range edges or niche limits because of less suitable environments in these areas, but the occurrence of such patterns remains largely unexplored. Further, fluctuations in temperature could pose demographic constraints on populations and also influence their variability. We used Breeding Bird Survey data to show that the population variability of 97 resident North American birds consistently increases towards their niche limits and in areas with more variable temperatures, …